MML Investors Services LLC Grows Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 12.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 193,099 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,745 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC owned approximately 0.06% of WEC Energy Group worth $18,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,500,680,000 after purchasing an additional 25,975,652 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $453,794,000 after buying an additional 4,691,017 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $362,971,000 after buying an additional 1,912,223 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 36.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,566,001 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $201,328,000 after acquiring an additional 688,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 11.8% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,954,778 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $153,372,000 after acquiring an additional 206,637 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total value of $179,417.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,160,851.20. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $97.15. 1,790,189 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,118,429. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $97.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $102.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on WEC shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $96.18.

About WEC Energy Group

WEC Energy Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. It operates through Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, and Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure segments.